The subject matter described herein relates to automated monitoring and reporting of vehicle performance data. Vehicles such as commercial air, marine and land vehicles may include one or more performance monitoring systems that record data regarding various aspects of vehicle operation and performance. For example, the performance data may include a record of performance events that occur during the operation of the vehicle. The performance monitoring system may collect data and report the data to a remote system. Maintenance needs for the vehicle may be determined from the data.
For example, an aircraft may include one or more central maintenance computer (CMC) and/or an aircraft condition monitoring system (ACMS). The central maintenance computer collects, consolidates and reports performance data for the components of the air vehicle. Certain maintenance messages are associated with one or more types of performance data, and are stored in the CMC. When the CMC receives performance data, it analyzes the data to determine if the received data meets the criteria associated with the maintenance messages. If the received data meets the criteria, then the CMC presents the appropriate stored maintenance message to the user via a user interface. An example of a CMC is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,919 entitled, Central Maintenance Computer System and Fault Data Handling Method.
An ACMS also collects, monitors, records and reports real-time aircraft system data. For example, the data collected by the ACMS is used to perform cabin pressure and temperature monitoring, hard landing detection, flight crew monitoring, and engine monitoring in addition to many other aircraft performance functions. The reported data may be utilized to analyze aircraft performance and trends in aircraft performance, report significant flight events, and troubleshoot faults.
Vehicle designs and components change regularly, as do monitoring and maintenance needs for various vehicle systems. Accordingly, systems and methods for vehicle condition monitoring and reporting which allow for flexibility in defining parameters to evaluate and conditions which trigger an alert may find utility.